Austin Bouldering Project
When the momentary thrill of winter’s late arrival has passed and you’ve had your fill of warm, together-y goodness at home with your brood, escape from the house is critical. Your brain and body are at risk for hibernation. You know it’s time to get that blood pumping again. But it’s cold outside. So. Very. Cold. While I recognize that winter in Austin is mild by most standards, I don’t think I’m alone when I admit that physical exertion in the cold is not my cup of tea. It’s 37 degrees and cloudy and you want to go for a bike ride? Not this mama, no way, no how. Lucky for the winter wimps among us, there are lots of indoor fun options for keeping our families moving when there’s a nip in the air or clouds in the sky.
Little Land Play Gym
We’ve already featured several lists of Free Indoor Fun in Austin, so we wanted to share a more comprehensive list of places to stay active and have some indoor fun when it’s snowing, raining, cold, way too hot, or just when you don’t want to deal with the great outdoors. Follow the links below for hours, locations, and pricing information.
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Roller Skating
- Playland Skate Center Austin’s largest roller skating rink offers an impressive light show, fog machine, and state of the art sound system.
- Millenium East End Arena The official skating rink for the Texas Rollergirls Rec-and-Roller League and Austin Derby Brats Junior League offers family skating fun, too.
- Austin Roller Rink This old school South Austin rink caters to skaters of all ages.
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Laser Tag
- Blazer Tag This arena is the largest in Texas and has three stories of towers and ramps for the ultimate adrenaline rush.
- Main Event Compete against other teams through glowing pillars, arches, and passageways in a foggy, black light, music-filled adventure.
- Austin’s Park (Pflugerville) Laser Tag is one of several indoor activities offered at this entertainment center.
- Spare Time (Pflugerville) The heart pounding thrill of laser tag in a multi-level arena.
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Bowling
- Highland Lanes No-frills old-school bowling alley. Clean and friendly with great food.
- Dart Bowl 32 lanes of old-school bowling and, reportedly, the best enchiladas in town.
- Texas Union Underground 12 lanes in the basement of UT’s Texas Union. Open to the public. Glow Bowl (black lights, lasers, music) is available at special times Thursday through Sunday.
- Millenium Youth Entertainment Complex 16 lanes and budget-friendly prices.
- Westgate Lanes South Austin’s own old-school alley.
- Main Event Black lights, lasers, fog, and music. Lane reservations are available online.
- Austin’s Park (Pflugerville) 10 lanes of bowling inside of a bustling entertainment center. Austin’s Park no longer charges admission to enter the facility. You can pay-as-you-go for the attractions that interest you.
- Spare Time (Pflugerville) Ultra-modern bowling lanes featuring state-of-the-art big screens playing popular music videos, sporting events, and more.
- Mel’s Lonestar Lanes (Georgetown) Upscale alley with traditional lanes, plus 12 boutique lanes with lounge seating.
- EVO (Kyle) 14 lanes of bowling within a large entertainment complex.
- Bass Pro Shops (Round Rock) 16 full lanes of bowling that offer a unique underwater ocean experience.
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Gymnastics
- NEG Offers an open gym on Friday nights for ages 5-18. Members and non-members are welcome.
- BAM Academy Open training opportunities for all ages in multiple disciplines including gymnastics and parkour. Members and non-members are welcome.
- Capital Gymnastics Parent and child (5 and under) gym fun is offered on Friday mornings at all three locations.
- Rolly Pollies (Bee Cave) FitGym is mixed-age supervised play time available seven days a week for walkers through age 8. Members and non-members are welcome.
- AcroTex (Round Rock) Little ones are welcome at Tot’s Open Gym on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
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Playscapes
- Mt. Playmore This “Texas sized” playscape is designed so that adults can comfortably play along with their children. There’s also a 1400 square foot toddler-only space for the littles.
- Little Land Play Gym This pediatric therapy facility offers an open gym with activities and equipment designed to help children’s bodies develop, change, and be the best that they can be.
- Catch Air Indoor playground with a variety of climbing structures for children ages 1 to 12.
- Thinkery Babies and toddlers will enjoy Let’s Grow, a garden themed play area for ages 0 to 3.
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Yoga
- Little Yoga House This kid-centric boutique studio offers a variety of programs for infants through teenagers, including Family Yoga and Parent & Toddler Yoga classes.
- Say Om Drop-in Kids Yoga and Family Yoga classes are available at this SW Austin studio.
- Eastside Yoga Eastside strives to bring yoga to people from all stages of life with classes for families, parents with babies, and donation-based community classes on Sundays.
- Mind Body Yoga NW Austin studio offering affordable yoga classes to all who seek the teaching. A Kid’s Yoga class happens on Sunday mornings for ages 5-8.
- Yogapeutics This aerial yoga studio for kids emphasizes brain and body fitness through classes and Saturday Mother/Child workshops.
- Austin Yoga Tree Their Yogi Buddies class is exercise for the body, mind, and spirit of kids in kindergarten through 6th grade.
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Climbing
- Austin Rock Gym Austin’s only dedicated rock climbing company, located in North Austin, with day use passes available for non-members.
- Main Event Main Event’s 9,000 square foot Rock Climbing Arena is the perfect vertical challenge for pros and novices alike.
- Austin Bouldering Project This new fitness center on the east side focuses on bouldering–rock climbing, without using ropes or harnesses, on climbs that don’t go too high off the ground. The entire gym floor is a giant, squishy pad and kids and families are encouraged to give bouldering a shot.
- Altitude Trampoline Park In addition to a wide variety of trampoline-based playscapes, Altitude offers a 20 foot climbing wall with a giant foam pit at the bottom.
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Inflatables
- Hoppin House South Austin’s indoor inflatable playground for kids 11 and younger.
- iPlay 15,000 square foot indoor inflatable playground that’s open during most of the week for open play — Saturdays are always for reserved parties, and they’re closed on Mondays during the school year.
- Pump It Up Not just your birthday party place, Pump It Up has Open Jump six days per week. There’s a location in Round Rock, too.
- Hop N Happy Bounce houses, obstacle courses, and a foam pit for toddlers to 10-year-olds.
- Inflatable Wonderland (Cedar Park) Located inside Lakeline Mall, this inflatable original is open during regular mall hours for your kids to jump, run, and play.
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Golf
- Topgolf This high tech driving range has 102 climate-controlled bays that feel between 10-30° warmer than outside temperatures.
- Main Event Putt around a glow-in-the-dark, fluorescent drenched, multi-dimensional miniature golf course.
- Lunar Mini Golf (Cedar Park) Glow in the dark mini golf fun inside Lakeline Mall.
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Trampoline
- Jumpoline Innovative trampolines for the whole family to enjoy.
- Jump USA Park Features eight running lanes and two sports game trampoline courts, plus rides and karaoke.
- Urban Air 25,000 square feet with wall-to-wall trampoline arenas, runway, foam pit, slam dunk track, trampoline dodgeball arena, and Warrior Course. A special jump time for toddlers only is offered one morning per week.
- Jumpstreet (Cedar Park) Wall to wall trampolines, trampoline dodge ball and other unique and fun activities.
- Altitude Trampoline Park This 40,000 square foot complex includes a variety of trampoline activities and experiences including a kid’s court with dedicated toddler time during the school year.
A bonus for the brave:
- Big Stacy Pool Although it’s not indoors, this Travis Heights gem stays a balmy 80 degrees through winter, thanks to geothermal water flowing from an artesian well thousands of feet below its surface.
